I’ve known people who’ve toyed with this idea before; this guy named Mike at my old church in Davis had a group called “C.O.R.E.” (I don’t remember what it stood for) that would meet up a few times a week to exercise, and then spend time in the Word.  The idea behind this group was that physical transformation should accompany / mirror / supplement / reinforce spiritual transformation.  As they grew and matured spiritually, exercising their heart and mind through scriptural reading and meditation, they would grow and mature physically by way of physical exercise.  It’s an interesting idea.

I’ve been learning at Ekko that the Jews would reinforce their scriptural readings with tangible exercises.  For example, when Jewish children were learning Torah, they would recite a memorized passage, dip a finger in honey and eat it.  The idea was that the physical sweetness of the honey would reinforce the notion that the Word of God was likewise sweet for our souls.  With this in mind, I run and lift weights.  The point is to discipline and strengthen myself physically as I discipline and strengthen myself spiritually.  It just makes sense.

Anyway, I’m going to stop here now.  Gonna go spend some time with God now.

I feel stupid for being so stressed and anxious.  I’m supposed to be older and more mature, but here I am, dreading a meeting with my ex.  I feel immature and childish, as if I shouldn’t feel like this.  I don’t know…  It’s stupid.  I don’t know why she told me a week in advance.  I’ve been dreading it all week.  What are we going to talk about?  Why now?  I was doing okay.  I was moving on.  Now she’s got me beating myself up – hopes up one moment, telling myself to be realistic another.  It feels like someone took a hole saw to my chest and made a huge divot.  I hate feeling like this.

God help me.  God, please help me get my emotions under control.  God, please help me be calm and trust in You.  God, please help me remember how You’ve never failed me before, and how You promise me that You will never fail me.  I hate this, but I have this nagging in the back of my mind that whatever’s to come will be for the better.  Help me to trust in that nagging.  Help me to embrace whatever comes, Lord.  Help me to relax, and make use of this time before my meeting to just relax with You – to dwell with You in Your presence.  Help me to think upon good things – positive things.  Help me to direct my energies and focus them into positive activities.  When it comes down to it, I trust in You.  Please be with me today.

I should get going.

For those of you that don’t know, the APEST test is an online evaluation designed to distinguish which roles of the the five-fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11) for which a Christian is most suited.  The five categories of Christian leaders, according to the five-fold ministry paradigm, are the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, and Teacher.  Each type of leader has their strengths, weaknesses, and personalities.  Therefore, each type of leader has a role to play within the ministry.  There is a lot of information about each of these roles, but since this is a personal blog, I’ll only go into my top two categories.

My two highest-scored categories were Prophet (41) and Shepherd (30).  The numbers are relative to a 50-point scale, and the higher the number, the stronger the affinity.  My three secondary categories scored as follows:  Teacher (25), Apostle (23), and Evangelist (12).

In the APEST report, the profile for a Christian with a Prophetic + Shepherding affinity read:

The Prophet Shepherd cares with great compassion and conviction so others may believe with greater conviction. The PS has a compelling side to them – seeking to be with the disenfranchised and see their needs met in a personal way. Being spiritually sensitive they connect people with God in the right way. They believe in a personal place for all people. The PS desires to love people and lead them to greater experience of God and his cause. The motivation of the PS is for people to belong to a community, reaching for a greater cause.

The profile for the Prophetic Christian reads:

The genius of Prophetic leadership is the ability to discern the spiritual realities in a given situation or community. This leadership style communicates the elements of the spiritual realities in a timely and appropriate way. Prophetic leadership’s main concern is to further the mission of God’s people and communities. The Prophetic has an innate sense of knowing the mind of God on issues concerning growth and transformation. As a leader, he or she is concerned that changes made today are needed to progress into the future. The Prophetic leader seeks integration between spiritual realities and immediate need. He or she is a questioner, freely disturbing the status quo and challenging individuals and organization to move in a different direction. He or she may probe individual or group awareness to solicit further questioning, all to gain clarity. The Prophetic leader impacts communities through integration. Prophetic leadership influences others by truth – telling, not afraid of speaking in a tension with the dominant way of thinking and practice.

John 1:6-8;

“6.There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7.He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8.He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.”

James 1:21-23;

“21.Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22.Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23.Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror; 24.for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they look like.”

Characteristics:

Questions what has become normative. Disturbs common thinking and practices. Agitates for positive change. Desires learning for purposes to influence. Discerns the message of Truth Seeks to ensure an authentic response to Truth

Core issue is one’s relationship with God Urgency felt now, in the moment, “this must happen.” Comfortable dismantling the present for future hope Deep compassion for the cause of the people Inspires all people to respond to God’s message May communicate creatively to get message across

Impact: Integration, the one who knows.

• You have great faith in what you believe, explain these beliefs with others. Your precise knowledge of what God calls us to do will encourage and assure people who naturally question or are indecisive. This encouragement and assurance leads others to confidence, faithfulness, obedience and influence.
• As a person who boldly communicates God’s truth, be aware of how strong your message can become. Ask those you trust for help with word choice, delivery and timing. The right message at the wrong time may easily be ignored. This may result in people getting tired with the persistence of the same message.
• You feel great ownership of the message God has given you. Think of ways you can communicate this message beyond words. How can you serve as a way to encourage their greater commitment? Then, commit yourself to serving in places that reflect your passion.

The profile for a Shepherding Christian reads:

Shepherding leadership influence by nurturing, protecting and caring for people. Shepherd leaders primary function is as the care-givers of individuals. Shepherding leadership is the people-oriented motivator who develops and supports healthy relational systems. In a leader, he or she has the unique ability to know and understand the needs of people and the ability to develop others. Shepherd leaders focus on the needs of today and manage people through meaningful and personal contact. Often the Shepherd leader has a unique understanding of other’s feelings and emotions, creating a sincere relational bond. He or she will seek to create safe environments for meaning spiritual growth and discipleship. A Shepherd leader believes in the need to seek to resolve the needs of today at the expense of the focusing on needs of tomorrow. He or she is a humanizer, they provide the emotional glue for the caring of individuals within an organization. The Shepherd leader impacts the community through nurture. The Shepherd leader influences others by their deep love, care and protection of those in their care.

John 13:34-35;

“34.A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35.By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

1 Thessalonians 2:6-8;

“6.As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7.but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8.We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us

1 Corinthians 13:4-7;

“4.Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5.It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Characteristics:

Core issue: love for people – individually and collectively Humanizer providing care, concern and correction Creates environments for change, not always comfortable Unifier of an organization Patient and timely with care, stretching people to grow Cultivates loving and mature relationships

Aware of the spiritual network within a community Desire to see people enriched, connected and understood Expresses God’s love through creating healthy communities Seeks the dignity and respect of each person Has a vision for growth, sees other’s development Aware of dangers, protects and guards others

Impact: Nurture, the one who cares.

• You have the unique ability to provide a comfortable yet challenging space for people, a trusting relationship ripe for personal and spiritual growth. Seek places to serve as a counselor, discipler, care giver or role model. Be aware of the possibility that co-dependency may occur between you and those you are leading. Lead people inward and forward.
• You naturally see potential, progress and growth; comment frequently on this. Trust your insight to lead people where they need to be. Your insight provides encouragement, learning and trust for development. This type of wisdom is a gift, share it freely so others gain a greater sense of faith in God and belief in themselves.
• People will feel comfortable around you because you naturally understanding their feelings, emotions and life situation. People may often come to you for help, advice and comfort. Learn to recognize the signs of vulnerability and trust. Observe how open people become, and gently encourage in appropriate ways. Seek ways to connect their growth to the fulfillment of their personal mission and purpose in life.

It’s comforting to see these categories listed out like this.  I enjoy taking profiling tests such as the APEST test or the Myers-Briggs test and seeing the result, because it helps me to know why I am the way that I am, and why I do things the way that I do.  Once I know these things, I use the knowledge gained to improve my efficiency and adeptness in tackling tasks and situations.  I am empowered with the ability to purposefully contribute to the church when I can explain why I do things in certain ways.  I would recommend all Christians to take the test.

I am a Prophet-Shepherd Christian, albeit an immature one not yet qualified to handle leadership responsibilities.  I have a lot of growing to do, but now I have a goal and a direction.  I believe that if I can surrender to God, his will, and his precepts, and forge a strong relationship with him through personal time in his presence as well as through relationships with the church, I will grow to be a mature Christian able to fill this role.  Here’s to growth, everybody.  Amen.

Another reason I’m creating this blog is to minimize my luggage when I go out.  It’s cumbersome to carry a bible and moleskine with my laptop, camera, sketchbook, school folders, textbooks, and other miscellaneous essentials, so I hope that in creating this blog, I’ll remove obstacles that keep me from delving into the Word.

In this day and age there are so many great resources that can be found online, from Blogspot and BibleGateway.com, to great Christian forums such as Christianity Reddit and Theist vs Atheist.  The range of resources that can be found online these days is amazing.  So, here goes.